Trials, Tribulation and Triumph

Dark Times are Coming Chapter 4

Throughout the morning, Bette thought about the situation with Alice.  She usually could sense when Alice needed help, but lately she had to admit she had not been paying attention.  Bette had attempted to contact Alice several times but it never seemed to be a good time to talk.  The more she thought about what Shane had said at dinner, the more she worried.  Alice was family, Dana was family and the loss of Dana impacted everyone, but Alice was broken by her friend's untimely death.  Tasha coming into her life really seemed to help, but Tasha is gone now too. Nat being a therapist gave her an a unique level of empathy and understanding of the complexities of grief, but Dana had been gone over a decade by the time Alice met Nat.  To everyone's surprise, Alice chose to process her grief alone and she had not finished mourning the loss even after all these years.  Grief is a weird thing and Bette knew this from experience.  By the time she got into her car, Bette had decided she was going to push.  "Alice," she said into the Bluetooth speaker as she shifted the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway. 

"Hey, sorry I haven't called back," Alice said as a horn honked in the background.  "Learn to drive," she yelled.  "Sorry, not you.  What's up?"

Bette smiled as she listened to the antics of Alice behind the wheel.  "I was hoping we could..."

"Fuck, there's never anywhere to park.  Sorry, what?"

"Umm," Bette paused, thinking fast.  "Are you ok?"  Bette wasn't sure this was the best approach, but what the hell.  It was clear Alice had a lot going on and there would never be an ideal time to talk. 

"Yeah, I'm just driving in the jungle of LA.  Are you Ok?  Tina isn't back yet, right?" Alice said sounding distracted.

"No, she doesn't get back till next week. She is staying a bit longer than expected."  This conversation was turning away from what she wanted to talk about.  She had Alice on the phone, Bette reminded herself, so she persisted.  "You just didn't seem your normal self when we last saw each other."  Bette cringed at the way she sounded.

"Normal," Alice said in a fretful tone.  "Normal is BS."

"Fuck!" Bette said to herself, sensing Alice was now upset.

"Normal is something invented to make people feel bad about themselves."  Alice paused, "I'm fine.  Everything is fine.  You've been talking to Shane."  She spat out.

Bette let out a deep breath.  "She's worried and so am I."  Bette paused, "I'm just trying to be a friend."  Bette took a deep breath unsure of how to continue, "Fuck... Just take care of yourself."

"Really, I'm ok."  Alice paused taking a deep breath and then a loud, slow exhale.  "I'll talk to you later.  Maybe we can all have dinner when Tina gets back... Thanks Bette."

Bette heard the click as Alice hung up.  Sometimes being a friend is not solving a problem it is bearing witness, she thought as she continued to drive to work.

Later that day Bette found herself once again at the LA Peabody. James seemed to be as obsessed as Bette was with the hunt for the painting and called her earlier in the day asking her to come by.  Bette smiled as she walked in seeing James leaning into a painting trying to adjust it.  He nodded when he saw her and began to cough.  James got the coughing under control and pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his mouth.  "I'm glad you're here.  I have a lot to catch you up on," he said as he led her to the back room.  He stopped in front of a door and pulled out some keys.  "I have been coughing my brains out for the last couple days.  Julie wanted me to stay home, but I wanted to show you the new stuff I found.  It's just a bad cold."  James started coughing again as he opened the door and turned on the light.  He pulled out his handkerchief once again and covered his mouth until the hacking subsided.  He then reached for a bottle of water.  He twisted the cap and took a long drink.  "I think your friend the professor was on to something."  He said as he wiped his mouth.